Don't Push Me
by literallynoidea
Summary: In which Danny really doesn't want to fight, but ends up having to, and he snaps.


Lost control of this one, literally. Mistakes galore, I'd imagine.

OOoOOoOOOOOOOOoooooOoOOOOooo

The thing is, Danny knows he should be home. The town is still reeling from his expulsion, and…the video. But he just can't stay in his house. Memories are blaring through his mind like a never ending siren, his mother is giving him those looks of hers like she's worried for him and about him, and it's…it's suffocating.

So he threw on an old pair of black jeans, a black long sleeved shirt, and black combat boots. All black everything. Fitting, for his mood. Lastly, he grabbed something to tie his hair back if it got annoying, and he headed out the door.

As a last second thought, he turned back around and grabbed his iPod. Some music to keep him company. Lacey was predictably, grounded for the rest of her life. Jo and Rico were probably out studying at the diner, and it was probably best for him to stay clear from there until things calmed down.

Which would most likely be never. He sighed, plugging his earphones in and turning the music up as high as it went. Perhaps the louder the music, the quieter his thoughts.

He walked aimlessly in the dark for a while, and when he finally looked up, he sighed angrily at the sight of the diner a few feet away. Of course, he'd end up there. Frowning, he aimed to walk past, only to end up glancing in the window and locking eyes with Archie, of all people.

He froze for a moment, before continuing his walk, hoping to everything that Archie would just stay away and continue trash talking him to the rest of his jock buddies like he's probably been doing for the past few days.

Glancing backwards, he wasn't surprised to see the jock and the rest of his fanclub behind him, closing in.

Danny sighed. He knew this confrontation was unavoidable. Looking around, he realized the town was still pretty crowded, and people were turning to stare at him. He was outnumbered, and nobody would do anything about it.

There was a park a few blocks away. It was best to head there. Danny kept his head down, switching the music on his iPod to something darker, heavier. Something to amp him up. He didn't want to fight…but he might have too.

When he reached the park, he took out his earphones and placed his phone and music player on a nearby bench, and wrapped his hair into a loose ponytail before turning around and meeting Archie's eyes. There were four other guys with him. Great.

"You know what this is about, Socio." started Archie.

"Do I?" Danny asked, shifting his weight to and from his toes and his heels, needing to fidget as he was starting to tremble from the adrenaline.

"Don't play with me."

"I didn't know this was a game." Danny countered, raising an eyebrow.

Archie growled in annoyance, clenching his fist.

"Lacey, Socio? Of all the girls?"

Danny sighed.

"Nobody really compares-

Archie took a threatening step forward. Immediately, Danny got in a fighting position, locking his feet and bringing his fists up, his body tensing.

"How did you charm her to get into bed with you? Freaks like you know how to play the game, right? Got her to follow you like some puppet, just like that Jo girl."

"Where is this going, Archie?" Danny interrupted, really not liking the words coming out of his mouth.

He rolled up his sleeves.

"You know where it's going." Archie replied, cocking his head back to signal to his support group he'd brought along.

They all moved to surround Danny, who took a few deep breaths, keeping his eyes on Archie the whole time. He was used to this. He knew what it was like. He walked into juvie with a rep, with murderer written all over him. Kids were there with arson, petty thefts, robbery… When he first stepped in to where he'd spend the next five years of his life, all eyes were on him.

A bunch of kids who'd been there longer and had a reputation to defend. Twelve fights in the first week. Enough bruises to last a lifetime. Eventually, he'd learned to defend himself. To remind them what he was…a murderer. And he did. He learned to fight. He learned to hurt, which spots inflict the most pain, which would have them doubled over, which would have them dizzy, instant knock outs. He knew how to ruin. He'd been to the bottom, he'd dug and snarled and lived with animals.

This?

This was nothing.

He heard the guy behind him before he came, his sneakers clumsily scraping the dirt. Danny drove his elbow back, nailing him in his nose before whirling around and following up with a jab to the throat. The attacker dropped, gasping for breath and sputtering through the blood that was spurting out of his nose. Not one to let that distract him, he stepped to the side to avoid the fist of another, feeling the wind from the attack blow past his ear. He grabbed his attacker's wrist straight on, yanking him forward and into his waiting fist, reveling in the satisfied crack of another nose. He then released the boy, shoving him back with both hands and rushing forward, delivering to solid blows to his stomach, the already injured boy unprepared. He watched as he collapsed onto his knees, heaving and flopping to the ground, curling up in a fetal position.

Three to go.

Danny turned around just in time to avoid Archie's fist. It seems Archie was tired of waiting. Danny parried another punch, bringing the palm of his hand to clip Archie in the jaw. Archie's head snapped backwards at the blow, and he staggered back, giving Danny time to observe the other two boys who looked a little less brave at the sight of two of their teammates curled up on the ground.

Archie righted himself, squaring up his fists and glaring at his two friends lingering at the side. They glanced nervously between Danny and Archie, clearly not knowing if this was worth it.

Danny watched all of this, saying nothing. He was just waiting for Archie to make his move, which didn't take long.

Except, it came in words.

"I knew you were after her from the beginning. You've been thirsting after Lacey the moment you set foot back in school."

Danny said nothing, waiting for him to strike.

"It figures. I'm just a little surprised Lacey fell for your charade more than Jo. A quick bone to make yourself seem more human, right socio?"

Danny took a deep breath, clenching his fists at his sides, willing himself to stay focused. These were just words. He was just trying to rile him up. He knew better.

"She's good, isn't she? I mean, I would know, with you going after my sloppy seconds and all."

Danny began to breathe a little harsher…a little faster…slowly bubbling…boiling…

"Don't push me, Archie." he ground out, gritting his teeth and willing the red haze to fade from his eyes.

Archie smirked.

"I just wish I knew a whore when I saw one, if she was so quick to jump on your socio dic-

Danny lunged forward, finally letting his deep rooted anger spring forth and envelop him. He delivered a swift combo that left Archie breathless, literally, with Danny's fists raining down on his arms, breaking his block and burying themselves into his stomach, slamming against his chest, busting his face and driving him backwards into a tree, where he could do nothing but try to survive the never ending blows.

Archie's friends were yelling, and they both moved to hold Danny back but he merely shoved them off of him, latching his fingers into Archie's hair if just to keep a grip, to make him hurt, to make him scream and beg and cry and wail and take it back. He knew Archie didn't really mean it. He had seen the hurt in the other boys eyes at this…'betrayal' or whatever he considered this to be, but he was going after the people that mattered to Danny most, and Danny was just not having it, not now, not ever, and if he needed to drive Archie into the ground and make him bleed, then so be it.

Another pair of arms wound themselves around him, and Danny struggled against them as he was pulled away from Archie and wrestled to the ground.

"Danny, if you don't stop I'll have you arrested."

Chief Masterson.

Danny stopped struggling, closing his eyes and breathing in as deeply as possible. Slowly, the weight on top of him was removed, and he stood up, surveying the damage. Three boys down, each moaning in pain, and two others looking terrified. Beside him was Chief Masterson, and a few other officers moving in to help the wounded. Danny turned to the chief with wide eyes, backing away slowly to the bench.

"Danny…" called Kyle, holding his hands up in a show of calm.

Danny grabbed his things off the bench with shaking hands.

"Danny, you need to relax." Kyle tried again, but Danny just turned around and fled, running as fast as his legs could take him.

He ran and he ran and he ran and he ran, stumbling and gasping and terrified of himself. And that was the worst feeling, because to be afraid of yourself was to suffer. There is no escape when you are your worst fear.

He slowed down, panting for breath and looked around, noticing where he was.

Lacey's house.

The only car in the driveway was hers. Not thinking straight, he stumbled up the steps, knocking on the door, almost frantically. He heard hurried footsteps, before the door was yanked open, revealing a frazzled Lacey.

Danny? What was he doing here? Thank God her Mom was out for the night…oh my God.

The dark skinned girl's eyes widened, taking in the sight of her maybe boyfriend/we still kiss but I'm not sure/still trying to figure it out/friend, his ruffled clothing, trembling form…bloodied hands.

Lacey gasped and took a few steps back, getting away from him.

"Danny?" she whispered, terrified at the sight of him looking like…this… . She kept her gaze on his bruised and bloodied hands, wanting to go and comfort him but her instincts would not let her get closer. So she waited.

Danny followed her line of sight, slowly raising his hands to get a look at them. He stared at them, and then at Lacey, the look in his eyes almost pleading.

"Lace, I…I didn't…it wasn't supposed…they followed me and I…Lace I…I…"

Lacey tried to get some semblance of control.

"Okay…okay Danny, close the door, and stay right where you are. Can you do that? Can you do that for me?"

Danny nodded numbly, moving to shut the door behind him and standing still, his wild eyes trained on Lacey, and nothing else.

"Now I need you to take a few deep breaths. You're shaking Danny…a lot."

Danny shook his head.

"I need…I hit him…them…they're hurt, but I can't seem weak, I'm not weak, I have to protect myself to survive…"

Lacey's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She clutched her silk robe tighter around her, trying to think of how to get some control.

"Who? Who did you hit?" she asked.

Danny's eyes were glazed over as he contemplated her question.

"Archie…and some of his…friends."

Oh God, Archie? He had lost that first fight in school those few weeks ago, and judging from the way Danny looked, Archie had lost again.

"Why, Danny?"

"He…the diner…saw me…followed me…tried to jump me…the video…they attacked me…"

What? The…the _video_. Of course. He was upset about the video. Alright.

Okay.

She was getting some answers.

"Okay…so a group of them attacked you…and you defended yourself?" she asked softly.

Danny nodded, gaze drifting between his hands and her face.

Lacey took a few calming breaths. Danny wouldn't hurt her. She would be fine. He defended himself. He…he wouldn't hurt her. She wouldn't be the next Tara. He wouldn't hurt her.

Slowly, Lacey made her way closer to Danny, her bare feet padding against the wooden floor of her house quietly. Taking another deep breath for more courage, she slowly reached her arms around, taking Danny's head and neck in her hands and gently pulling him toward her, careful to avoid his bloodied hands. She bit her lip at the feeling of him trembling violently in her arms, hushing him and holding him a bit tighter.

"It's fine Danny…you're alright."

She held him for a bit more, before releasing him and tugging his wrist.

"Come upstairs…let's get you cleaned up, okay? Is that alright?"

"I…yea…"

Lacey brought him up the stairs to the bathroom in the hallway, standing him in front of the sink. She grabbed his hands and turned on the faucet, letting the lukewarm water wash most of the blood away. What didn't immediately come off, she used an old towel to scrub. She then used another towel to wipe his face and neck, him watching her the whole time. Finally clean, she shut the water off, tossed the towels into a bin, and brought him along into her room. She didn't bother to turn the light on, instead focusing on getting seated on her bed, across from one other.

The two stared at each other in silence. Lacey could feel the bed shaking from Danny's constant trembling. She beckoned the boy into her arms again, and he collapsed forward, embracing her, and she him.

"I didn't mean to hurt them so badly, I…I saw a threat and I…I just…Lacey I'm…. He called you a whore."

Lacey tightened her grip. She'd heard that a lot lately.

"I care about you too much…he…I snapped and I…"

"It's alright Danny." Lacey whispered, running a hand through Danny's hair.

"No it's not…I-

"Danny. It's alright. They attacked you and you…reacted. It's…normal."

Danny leaned out of her embrace so he could stare at her.

"Do you mean that? Normal?"

Yes. Yes she did.

"I do." she answered.

Without warning, Danny moved forward, kissing her softly. Neither moved for a moment, before they separated, staring ceaselessly. Lacey's hands tightened in Danny's hair, tugging at the strands gently. Danny gasped quietly, his breath ghosting across Lacey's lips, and that's all it took to ignite them. They both surged forward, meeting each other in an open mouthed kiss. Lacey sighed into the kiss, allowing herself to be pushed onto her back, Danny settling himself above her. Their hands roamed each other's bodies, Lacey pushing her hands up under Danny's shirt and tracing his abs, Danny's fingers moving across her stomach, her shirt having ridden up.

It was so easy…so so easy to get lost in the way this felt, the sounds he made, the taste of him, the smell of him… . But she could still feel him trembling above her, and the moonlight splayed across his body only illuminated how pale and sickly he looked. This wasn't right. They needed to stop.

"Danny…" she whispered, arching up as he placed a number of kisses down her neck. "Dannydannydannydannydanny…"

He stopped, his lips removing themselves with an obscene sound before he opened his eyes, now wet with unshed tears, to gaze down at her.

"Oh Danny…" she mumbled, pulling him down to rest his head on her chest. Slowly, she felt her shirt become wet, and held him tighter as he shook even more.

"It's alright Danny. I'm right here."

He didn't make a sound, his breathing remaining level even as he cried.

"Sleep Danny…I'm right here. And I'll be right here when you wake up. So sleep. Let it out, and sleep."

And he did.


End file.
